About Me

I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Update on 9th Canadian Book Challenge

On a quiet Saskatchewan March evening with winter starting to wind down I am taking a look at my progress in the 9th Canadian Book Challenge which runs from July 1 to June 30 with the reader striving to read 13 Canadian authored books for the 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories. The Challenge is hosted at the fine Book Mine Set blog of John Mutford. It happens that I have now read 9 books for the 9th Challenge.They are: 1.) No Known Graveby Maureen Jennings; 2.) Plague by C.C. Humphreys; 3.) Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates; 4.) Another Margaret by Janice MacDonald; 5.) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley; 6.) The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny - Part I and Part II; 7.) Tropéano’s Gunby John Brooke; 8.) The Women of Skawa Island by Anthony Bidulka; and, 9.) The Night Bell by Inger Ash Wolfe.I have 5 more Canadian books already lined up for reading: 1.) The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley; 2.) A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley; 3.) The Heart of Hell by Alen Mattich; 4.) The Scottish Banker of Surabaya by Ian Hamilton; and, 5.) The Wail of the Wendigo by Steve Pitt (An Early Adventure of Pierre Trudeau).There is a 6th I will be reading for the Challenge which is the book I am most anxious to read. It is What's Left Behind by Gail Bowen which was just released on Monday. It will be the 16th Joanne Kilbourn mystery. I will buy a copy on my next trip to a city with a bookstore. Of the books already read my favourite new character is 11 year old Flavia de Luce in the series by Alan Bradley. I will have read 3 of the books in the series during the current Challenge. I am reading them both for pleasure and to give me information for the article I am writing on Saskatchewan mysteries for the third volume of The Saskatchewan Literary History.I try not to forecast the future but I am optimistic I will complete the 9th Canadian Book Challenge.